Rivalry in the Middle East? Japan’s CEAPAD initiative and China’s rise

Abstract

Ever since the so-called rise of China has started, Sino-Japanese relations have been increasingly described as a rivalry between both states. For the most part, this assumed rivalry has been analyzed on the global level or within the boundaries of the East Asian region, while the consequences of this rivalry for other world regions, such as the Middle East, have been largely neglected in the literature. In order to fill this gap, this article investigates how China’s growing presence in the Middle East, and in particular regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, influences Japan’s own foreign policy in this troubled region. It utilizes a modified concept of the strategic rivalry approach, called ‘asymmetric rivalry’, which challenges the widespread notion that rivalry needs to be mutually perceived by both sides and thus analyzes the assumed Sino-Japanese rivalry in the Middle East from a Japanese perspective. By focusing on the case of Japan’s CEAPAD initiative, which aims at coordinating East Asian countries’ developmental assistance towards the Palestinian Authority while deliberately excluding China, the present article shows that the perception of Japan’s foreign policy elite of China as a rival decisively influences how Japan’s foreign policy is shaped in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.     

Criminal heterarchy and its critics: governance and the making of insecurity in Colombia

ABSTRACT

The FARC, Colombia’s oldest and biggest guerrilla organisation, has long been constructed as the country’s public enemy number one, an enemy that is increasingly portrayed as an outright criminal actor who abandoned all political ambitions. This image of the FARC as a criminal threat to the Colombian state and society is central to a broader turn towards criminalisation in Colombian politics. Through the lens of a critical governance perspective and the notion of the state’s discursive selectivity this article analyses turning points during which the construction of Colombian society’s criminal enemies became a driving force in the country’s security governance. Which social forces support the implementation of criminalising forms of security governance and how? What are the social and political consequences of the latter? In answering these questions, the article argues that the war on (guerrilla) crime assumes a ‘productive’ role for Colombia’s formal democracy.     

人口较少民族人力资源开发的战略选择与现实路径

人口较少民族人力资源开发必须有明确的战略选择,包括战略定位、战略依据、战略重点和具体的战略对策。目前学术界对此研究不多且存在分歧,主要集中在人口较少民族人力资源开发是以经济目标为导向还是以文化目标为导向,以往的研究大都基于前者,而不同的目标导向带来的结果是不一样的。为此,强调以文化本位为基础的人力资源开发战略对人口较少民族而言更具本质意义和战略实施的可操作性。     

An integrated crisis communication framework for strategic crisis communication with the media: A case study on a financial services provider

Abstract

In order for organisations to survive in an ever-changing milieu in the current business environment, sufficient crisis communication and management practices need to be in place. Despite this, organisational crises are often inefficiently managed, which could be ascribed to the lack of strategic management of crises (Kash & Darling 1998: 180). This article explores the lack of strategic crisis communication processes to ensure effective crisis communication with the media as stakeholder group. It is based on the premise that the media are one of the main influencers of public opinion (Pollard & Hotho 2006: 725), thereby necessitating the need for the accurate distribution of information. Furthermore, the study focuses specifically on the financial industry, which is arguably more sensitive and thus more prone to media reporting because financial services providers manage people's money (Squier 2009). A strategic crisis communication process with the media is therefore proposed, facilitated through an integrated crisis communication framework, proposing a combination of integrated communication (IC) literature, with emphasis on Grunig's theory of communication excellence, to build sustainable media relationships through two-way communication; and a crisis communication process that has proactive, reactive and post-evaluative crisis communication stages, thereby moving away from seeing crisis communication as a predominantly reactive function.     

Towards a new model to describe the organisation–stakeholder relationship-building process: A strategic corporate communication perspective

Abstract

Successful organisations depend on stakeholder perceptions to address changes in turbulent organisational environments, report on the social and environmental impact of activities, the prevalence of public activism, globalisation, emerging issues and crises, and the need to be good corporate citizens through ethical and socially responsible behaviour. Despite the current emphasis on stakeholder relations and management, a lack of research exists on how to build these relationships. This article aims to report and discuss the findings of a study that explored the lack of organisation–stakeholder relationship (OSR) building models, to emphasise the elements and development of an OSR and highlight the need for a generic, strategic, integrated approach for sustainable OSR to contribute towards organisational effectiveness. This will be done using an exploratory literature review to constitute a conceptual framework for OSR building, of which the principles of the framework will be measured among leading Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed South African organisations, by means of a quantitative web-based survey and qualitative one-on-one interviews. The dominant focus on organisational stakeholders has provided added impetus and importance to the role of corporate communication, hence, this article will simultaneously endeavour to highlight the importance of practising corporate communication strategically, by emphasising its role in OSR.     

中央苏区红军西路军行动的积极意义

中央苏区红军在赣江流域分为东、西两路军后,西路军改变了中央原定的战略方向和战略中心而形成新的战略行动,并非完全是“左”倾路线控制下的产物,由此对中央苏区和中国革命发展也产生了特殊的积极意义。西路军以西线战场的开辟配合了东路军的胜利进军,为中央苏区和邻近苏区准备新的反“围剿”战争创造了条件;在推进根据地发展中增强了中央苏区与湘赣苏区相互联系的战略力量,扩大了党和红军的政治影响;在整顿河西苏区肃反扩大化中挽救和凝聚了革命力量,增强了革命队伍的信心;在具体战争实践中形成了符合革命实际的战略基点和战略战术原则,成为中国革命道路探索链条中的重要组成部分。     

Temporary Staff,Contractors, and Volunteers: The Hidden Workforce in Victorian Local Government

Theories of strategic Human Resource Management (HRM) emphasise the need to understand and effectively manage the workforce, and to align HRM practices with organisational strategy. Local government in Victoria was radically revised in 1993–94 with forced amalgamations, and later the introduction of Best Value Principles. Alongside this have been changes to council workforces. This article explores the composition of these workforces, and seeks to understand if strategic HRM practices underpin their management. It reports that in addition to the ‘known’ and ‘managed’ internal workforce, many councils have an external workforce which includes temporary staff, independent contractors, those working for external contractors, volunteers, work placement students and trainees. There is little evidence that theories of strategic HRM have been used to produce workforce planning strategies and policies relating to these staff, or that their management has been strategically aligned and reviewed to align with council strategies and business plans.     

实施“走出去”战略 谋求国际化发展——秦川机床工具集团跨国并购投资案例解析

党的十六大确定实施"走出去"战略以来,秦川集团采取先并购美国UAI公司、后组建QCA公司等一系列举措,成功打开了北美高端市场,实现了国际合作研发。中国企业在实施"走出去"战略时,投资对象必须符合自身战略发展的需要,彼此间能够形成战略协同;对合作对象必须具备系统整合能力,能够做到运营受控;对合作对象必须具备文化渗透能力,能够实现相互融合。     

气候政治博弈背景下的中国战略选择

上个世纪90年代以来,气候问题日渐被世人关注并演化成为一个全球政治议题。20年的气候谈判展现出气候政治博弈的复杂局面,利益主体的分化和博弈主题的扩展造成了气候政治合作这一全球性难题。在这样的背景下,我国应对全球气候政治博弈的战略选择可以从如下思路着手:一是掌握主动,坚持低碳发展;二是积极应对,争取话语优势;三是广泛参与,改造游戏规则。     

Building an Asia-Pacifi c Security Architecture: Objectives, Conditions and Visions

It is pointed out by the Chinese leadership that, despite numerous frameworks for Asia-Pacifi c economic cooperation, a regional security architecture that suits the regional realities and meets the needs of various countries should and must be constructed. China should grasp the current strategic opportunities, assume the role of concept-generator and agenda maker, and duly advocate the creation of an Asia-Pacifi c regional security architecture. This paper lists six objectives in building a regional security architecture, compares the positions and proposals of various countries on regional security affairs and analyzes the three salient security issues—North Korea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Given the attitudes of the United States, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the ASEAN, it is impossible for any one of these entities to take the initiative in building a comprehensive architecture; nor is it advisable for China to do so under these circumstances. What China needs to do at this moment is to defi ne its strategic goals and clarify its strategic thinking.